Demon17

Spot on D35. This could be Weid's Jayden Hunt/Jake Bowey moment like 2021. Hunt injured same time last year ,sort of. Bowey in and makes it impossible for the MC to drop him in remaining games and finals. This is Weid's last chance and will get him into finals glory or at least contention if he can keep contributing - but not if today doesn't work. I hope he understands the opportunity the football gods (and BBB's knee) has given him for tonight. DON'T WASTE THIS SAM - FOR ALL OUR SAKES.

Leaving Melbourne - yes, staying in Melb but leaving the Dees - very real threat.

Wev'e got '..heart and soul..." as you say in spades. The GF had 22 players with it last year. Gus is one of them . He can stay part of this culture , - or not. He'll stay. In a Bombers jumper - ? Give me a break.

Thats it for sure D11. Angus' best position for the TEAM is in defence as shown by the AA talk about him in that role this year. Goodwin sees this and good on him for sticking with that approach. I hate Geelong like many on here, but they have the consistent history of their dynasty in players staying for less but reaping the team-first flags as a reward. I admire them for that and it sprang from the Costa style and approach in those times . Simply really. But Godfather offers will always lure some and that's business and who can blame the odd one moving. But apart from AblettJnr who did it for family reasons, no-one walked out. We have the mighty Oliver, Trac, Gawn , Viney..... and jason taylor. It'll work out fine.

He is for sure. Kane Cornes admits the media, and included himself, suffer from '..currency bias..' They agree with the last thing they saw. King is a master at this. Not an original thinker on football, Joey is his apprentice . Both have found their role/personality/brand in the media to stay relevant and working. The match summary courtesy of the AFL website after the game was a follows: "....A good win for the reigning premiers who dominated post-clearance ground balls (75-55) as well as contested marks (16-6). The Demons were also far more effective at generating midfield intercepts (55-41) and their advantage at scoring from these (53-27) was equal to the final margin...." No mention of luck. Not to mention the chaos in second quarter caused by Salem's injury and the way the Dees righted the ship and dealt with the Dogs 8 golas 5 to 3 goals 2 after half time.

Great post here picket. Summed up well in that Luke leaves for a life changing figure and best wishes to him , but an absurd, amount and leaves behind a club with great culture and leadership to lets face it to a club that will always come second to the behemoth that is the eagles in Perth. I would be mortified if LJ was offered more or even equal to proven elites in Trac and Oliver around whom the club brand is building nicely.

His was referring to current form now. A fair comment. But meaningless come finals time given multiple pf failures by the cats. Should they fail again this year their response will be fascinating

Great post, DJR, especially the Charlie Walsh comment above. I heard Blight speak at a function in 1999 and he talked about His apporach to planning, using a clock for the 97 and 98 finals series. The GF is played at 5 minutes to midnight he said. Everything in the club is primed to peak then, not 30 minutes to midnight. Charlie Walsh was part of that overall philosophy. Goody will know this intimately IMO.

David King this morning on SEN was emphatic. on Geelong. They have done nothing special until they prove themselves in September. Nothing has changed about them till then. They are a very good home and away team. He said they play "..tight.." in finals and this is Scott's challenge. He has - on current form and potential to improve - Geelong No. 1 PF seed, daylight, then Dees. Followed by Pies and swans. Doesn't see Freo or Lions and Blues now a threat to the top 4. Freo's defence now not finals standard. Just passing this on for what its worth.

But the concern for me is that after the Cats howler, he did it again yesterday, twice I think. Big chat with him today. He's a highly intelligent footballer (footy-wise) so why is this problem persisting?

Fully agree, and for Yze to head off could only help him return at a later stage much more rounded for a senior role. I worry about losing his strategic nous right now though.

I credit Yze for a small but vital part in the overall Premiership last year. With Goody on the boundary and knowing Yze is up in the box I suspect they were a powerful combination (including others also in coaching, but Yze in particular given his Clarkson background). Filled me with confidence all 2021. Going elsewhere only will strengthen him for an eventual return to the Dees as head coach. But I couldn't be more pleased for a favourite son if he gets a senior gig anywhere. He can't do anymore CV - wise to prepare himself for the role.

Fritsch's selfish efforts were shown up today by others doing the right thing. We need him at his best , but... I would be astounded if the Riot Act isn't read to him unless there are extenuating circumstances. "..sorry Goody, I didn't see Charlie over there..." (replace Charlie with any other player) Tomlinson was good enough today to risk giving Lever the week if necessary to help get him right. Petty back will facilitate this.

Thats what t reckon. Played poorly yet still with the cats 10 minutes to go. And at Kardinia park little league ground. We'll await them at the G

Your comments abobe are spot on IMO. Only 3 weeks ago we found the gear and demolished a supposed contender in the Lions. The media had us all back as flag favourites. The belief this season will be real, whilst last year given lack of finals experience it was more of hoping - probably for fans and maybe the team as well. Except for Goody of course - he'd seen it all before. They can now visualise success in Spetmember. last year they couldn't.

I don't know. But I'll bet you Jason Taylor and Tim Lamb do and they know who the targets are. Much more relaxed over this issue than the Hogan years.

Absolutely its a 50/50 game Norm. Could also be a watershed game for the season for players and the team. Win and finals secured and we can be on a roll in last 5 games 9esp then with Oliver and Petty back in). Lose and Final 8 then under threat and heroics required. Some players can cement their spot going into end of season on tomorrow's performance, others may be on a last chance.

I stopped reading this post at "...MMM..."

I hope your'e right too. But I still see Jackson has being average in general this year with some brilliant cameos. Granted the Jackson/Gawn fuutre could be awesome though. I hated losing Hogan, but I don't see jackson as that developed as yet. We did it to Freo, re: Ed langdon, and he still gets booed over there as a result so that move hurt them. Swings and roundabouts. Clarry and partners in crime which are the dynasty backbone are locked away ( as Gus will be I'm sure) so I see jackson as just a 'doing business' type of issue. In Taylor I trust.

good summary. Pre-Roos the Dees were just embarrassing. Roos gave the club a sliver of self-esteem and built around that and stopped the on-field bleeding with a fix the defensive efforts first. Setting up the team for finlas in Goody's first year which should have happened(2017) Others then built a list on the foundations . No way is Neeld a David Noble either. vastly diferent circumstances and an insult to Noble.

Not really. Laura said clarry given every chance for port and nothing more definitive than that and if not hopeful for dogs.

Fair point in that "all" was over the top. But again this is an issue for a so called professional on half a mill per annum having a go home factor. If its true then I don't get it. Jusy say i want more money and move on. But don't plead homesickness.

Fritsch operates on the here and now and never doubts himself. Exhibit A is the goal in the Lions game fed to him by Clarry in traffic and a lightning quick snap by Bailey was a game winner. Same for the Thursday night issue. Luke Hodge believes this is how he thinks but will know he should have passed to Langdon . A simple message on Monday and he'll improve but lets not dump on the kid who got us back into the GF when all was lost. He's still only 24 and still learning.

Brilliant re: your response above to a Clayton Oliver/jackson post. For the life of me, this going home crap is just that - crap. If not, then don't tell me AFL is a professional sport. It ain't. Just say you're leaving for more money and leave it at that. We will understand. All of us have moved around the country, sometimes the world, for work. Suck it up afl players or move on and get out of our way. Clarry's signing just put the Jacko issue in context. Taylor and Co. will do the best deal and develop the best solution to support the Dees once-in-a-generation squad no matter what. Clarry/Viney/Gawn/Trac (and Angus) are cultural icons and all have done the hard yards of this squad and consequently a priority. Jacko's a Flag player at 19ish. Success has come too early to him to appreciate those with more history of the dark days. Players can either get on board - or not.

Thanks for this background. I hope Ryan and the team understand how much they are appreciated by the rest of us Dees in the bleaches. They do a mighty job on behalf of us all. He was conspicuous in the 2018 finals charge on TV and at the time I felt how well deserved those wins were for the DA to appreciate after the past decade of keepng the faith. Please pass these comments on. Thanks